


You can hold my hand we can laugh and talk

by futuredirewolf



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Clexa, F/F, F/M, Gay, M/M, flower shop/tattoo parlor, flowershop, queer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 09:03:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3604332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futuredirewolf/pseuds/futuredirewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That flowershop/tattoo shop au ft. Clexa<br/>[the title of the whole work is based on the song Flower Tattoo by The W's]</p>
            </blockquote>





	You can hold my hand we can laugh and talk

**Author's Note:**

> It felt like maybe we could last forever, forever....Oh, no. Please, God, tell me we're dreaming.  
> -Dreaming by Smallpools

Tuesday, May 31 2014 7:31  
Clarke Griffin had never eaten in a restaurant where the valet alone cost as much as her monthly rent. While the place was overly expensive she had to admit it was nice. The inside room was medium sized, it had white walls with booths all along both sides of the walls covered in white leather to match. There was a mirror strip that ran along the length of these walls just above the booth. There were cherry wood dividers that divided the kitchen and staff from the guests. Walking in she stood and admired the lights on the ceiling. They made a pattern with the wood strips that weaved above them. The wood was a dark cherry as well and accentuated the white beautifully.

"um, Clarke?" Finn cleared his throat beside her she hadn't realized she had stopped walking to admire the ceiling. 

"Can't take artists anywhere." he joked. 

He was right, she couldn't take her eyes off of the decor. Clarke gave him a shy smile. Where she came from the nicest place she'd ever eaten was a fast food restaurant. Finn had insisted on taking Clarke to a nice restaurant for their anniversary. Clarke hadn't realized the restaurant would be this nice. Finn was dressed up in his ‘nicest tuxedo’ he had told her when he went to pick her up. She laughed as she reminded him that it was his only tuxedo. As they got seated at her table she realized that Finn was extra fidgety. 

"Are you alright?" she asked.   
"Huh? W-Why wouldn't I be? Hmmm?" he was extremely defensive.   
"Erm I was just asking, you seem stressed out. Is something wrong?" Clarke put her hand over his.  
"No!" he almost shouted and pulled his hand away, "Sorry, I mean no, why would there be." 

Finn had been acting strange all evening. 

Luckily the waiter came by. He was tall lean and very familiar. 

“Hello, my name is-” the waiter began  
“Wells?!” Clarke exclaimed  
“Clarke? Oh my gosh! It’s you, you look great!”   
Clarke got out of her seat to give the familiar man a hug. 

Wells enveloped her in his usual bear hug. 

“I haven’t seen you since graduation, How have you been?”   
“Same as ever.” She replied with a laugh. 

Finn cleared his throat. Wells turned to face him and gave him a large smile that didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Hey Finn.”   
“Hello” Finn replied his voice cold.

Seven years had passed since they had all been in the same room, and nothing had changed between the two of them. Everyone knew Finn had had a crush on her when she had graduated high school, but she had been childhood sweethearts with Wells. The two of them had never gotten along well. 

“Are you two on a-um-a date?”   
“Yeah” Clarke replied quietly as she sat back down.   
“We’d like to order.” Finn said abruptly.   
“Oh, of course.” Wells rattled off the specials and unceremoniously handed them their menu’s. 

He turned and left without another word. 

“That dick.”   
“Finn!”   
“What? He comes in and starts hitting on you when it’s obvious that you’re mine-”   
“Excuse me?" Clarke said a little taken aback  
"What?"   
“I am not your possession.”  
“That’s not what I meant Clarke.”  
You don’t own me and he wasn’t flirting we haven’t talked in five years, geez i’m sorry i’m happy to see an old friend.”  
“Clarke-”  
“You know what I need to freshen up.”  
\-----  
Finn put his head in his hands he had truly walked into that one. Tonight was not going the way he wanted it to. He reached inside of his coat pocket and pulled out a small box. He had been dating Clarke for two years now and had known her for almost ten. He was ready to take the next step and he hoped she did too. He couldn’t lose her.  
\-----  
Clarke couldn’t believe the nerve Finn had to call her his. She was no one’s possession. She remembered the last time he had gotten so defensive about her, it had ended in a sprained wrist, a broken nose, multiple cuts and bruises, and a trip to the police station. Clarke started at herself in the bathroom mirror. She suddenly felt guilty, maybe she had been a little hard on him. She walked out of the bathroom and started walking back to her table. Wells caught her eye and waved her over to the side. 

“Are you alright you seem a little distraught.”

Typical worrisome Wells

“I’m fine.”  
“Good, also tell Finn I’m happy for you two.” He smiled his wide smile and the comment sounded genuine, but his eyes were filled with sadness. 

She went to give him a hug when a voice shouted from behind them. 

“Clarke what are you doing?” Finn looked angry. 

He took a step towards her and she smelled his breath. It smelled strongly of alcohol.

“Finn calm down i’m just-”  
“Just what!?” He almost shouted.  
“Hold up.” Wells stepped in between the two of them.  
That was probably not the best idea.  
“Finn if you’d just-” Wells’ sentence got interrupted by Finn’s fist.  
\-----  
The fight was over within seconds after the muscled valet had stepped in, but it was just long enough for Finn to get a concussion. The ride to the hospital had been quiet and filled with tension. Clarke pulled Finn’s red pickup truck into the parking lot and walked Finn into the waiting room. The waiting room was filled with a variety of people from those with a cold all the way to a guy who didn’t look like he had all of his fingers. They were admitted to a room fairly quickly. Perks of being good friends with one of the nurse’s.

Lincoln walked in shortly after they sat down.

“Man, I gotta stop meeting up with you two at the hospital. When was the last time we all sat down and had a dinner or something. Hmm?” He said with a chuckle. 

It was true Clarke and Finn rarely saw both Lincoln or Octavia unless it was in a hospital room

“Nonetheless” he continued “It’s good to see you both.” 

Lincoln was wearing his pale blue scrubs and bright green sneakers. He started to examine Finn. Poking and prodding none too careful or considerate of Finn. 

“Well you’re a little worse for wear, but you’ll be just fine. Nothing broken and no concussions.”  
“Perfect.” Clarke remarked  
“Great.” Finn said

As soon as Lincoln walked out of the room Octavia came storming in. Clarke saw Finn get visibly smaller. No one was scarier that Octavia on a rampage. No one. 

“Finn Collins! You take a girl out on the town and you end up in a hospital?!”  
“How did you-”  
“How did I know? Lincoln called as soon as you were admitted.”  
“I’m sor-”  
“You're ‘sorry’” she added air quotes to the word to add emphasis. She wasn’t letting Finn get a word in. He looked like a kicked puppy.  
“This is no way to treat you fiance-”  
“What?”

Octavia’s eyes widened as she realized what she just said.

“Oh- did I say fiance?” she began backing away towards the door “I meant girlfriend haha you know silly me always making slip ups.” She yanked the door open “Bye!” 

Octavia practically sprinted out the door.

“Do I wanna know what she was talking about?” Clarke said as she turned to look toward Finn.

Finn hopped down from the hospital bed and hesitated for a moment before replying.

“I was going to ask you to marry me.” Finn replied in a defeated tone. 

He went to grab his coat from the chair and was heading towards the door.  
“No, you don’t get to say that then just walk away” 

Clarke was still in shock by the whole situation. She couldn’t believe her ears marriage. In Finn’s eyes that meant children and settling down and she was barely 23. She didn’t even know if she wanted children in the first place.

“Well what else do you want me to say?” He was no longer angry he just looked tired.  
“I don’t know.” Clarke was truly at a loss, “Is that why you were getting so defensive at the restaurant?”  
“Yes Clarke.”  
“Why did you get so defensive?”  
“Because I’m afraid that you’ll slip away. I’m afraid of losing you.”  
Now it was her turn to get angry. “So you got into a fight.”  
“I did it for you.’  
“No, you don’t get to turn this on me. I’m not yours to battle over and own.”  
“I want you to be!”  
“Yeah, well I can’t be.”  
“What are you saying.”  
“I think you know.” Clarke turned and walked out the door before he could see the tears forming at the corners of her eyes.  
\-----  
Thursday July 15 2015 9:01  
Clarke woke with a start. She had been having that dream more frequently. Reliving her past was not something she was privy to. Clarke shut off her alarm. She rolled out of bed and put her feet on the cold wood floors. She breathed in deeply and tried to calm her beating heart. It was a Thursday which meant they didn’t open until 10pm because who in their right mind gets a tattoo on an early Thursday morning. Clarke stepped into her kitchen got herself a cup of coffee still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She heard a rustling coming from the pantry. When she opened it a cat jumped out. It would have been an adorable tuxedo cat if it was hers. She knew who the cat belonged to though. Her next door neighbor Lexa had a cat that had figured out how to get into Clarke’s house via the balcony. No matter how many times she locked the doors it still managed to get in, it also knew where she kept her potatoes. She looked at the clock, 9:12, any minute now Lexa will knock at her door in search of her potato eating cat. Sure enough like clockwork Lexa knocked her sharp knock followed by a “Clarke!” her voice was clear and could easily be heard through the door. Clarke picked up the cat, it began to purr in her arms which sounded hilarious because it still had a small potato in it’s mouth. 

Clarke opened the door and Lexa was standing in the doorway with her usual businesswoman garb. She always wore a black pencil skirt, black heels that made her intimidatingly tall, and a white button up t-shirt. Clarke never understood why Lexa wore such clothing, she worked in the flower shop for Pete’s sakes. Her shop was next door to Clarke’s tattoo parlour. 

“Thank you Clarke, I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Indra here can be a handful.” She was so formal and it made Clarke feel subconscious. 

She was still wearing her pajamas which consisted of an oversized Dr.Pepper t-shirt and plaid boxers. 

“Oh- it’s nothing, i’ve gotten used to it.” 

Clarke’s mouth was dry, Lexa was very good at intimidating. She was also very pretty which always seemed to make Clarke a flustered mess. 

“Well, I best be going. Good Bye Clarke.”   
“Bye.” Clarke squeaked back. 

Lexa was not at all Clarke’s type she had the personality of an Army officer. She also had the confidence to command armies and the stare to match, but she was cute.  
\------  
Lexa couldn’t believe Indra had snuck into Clarke’s apartment again. This was the third time this week. Lexa didn’t know why she kept going into Clarke’s apartment and eating her potatoes every time Lexa tried to feed Indra anything she wouldn’t have it. It was a wonder the cat was still alive. Lexa dropped the cat into her apartment. She glanced at her wristwatch it read 9:24 she cursed under her breath. Lexa was always down at her shop at 8:45 sharp to open up at precisely 9:00. This morning when she had realized Indra was missing she slowed her morning routine down a little. She knew Clarke wouldn’t be up until after 9am. She only knew this because of how often her cat escaped. She smiled at the thought of Clarke, in her plaid boxer shorts and over sized t-shirt. Clarke was a pretty girl. Lexa frowned, she couldn't afford to think like this. She turned towards the door. Her hand was shaking as she locked her apartment. 

No, she couldn't afford to feel this way not after what happened last time. Lexa closed her eyes and fought the tears. She took a deep breath and looked over at Clarke's door. It brought a warm feeling in her stomach that immediately made her sick. Lexa turned away quickly and went down the flight of stairs to her shop. All while a single thought floated in her head. You’ll lose her too.  
\-----  
Clarke opened up her shop at 10am. 

“Is it the end of the world?” a voice piped up behind Clarke  
“So what if I open up on time today Raven”  
“Because that would mean on time, You haven’t opened up on time since we got the place.” She said with a laugh.  
“Oh, please. I just happened to get up a little earlier this morning.”  
Raven’s head shot up “Is everything alright?” she asked with genuine concern.  
“I get up a little earlier and suddenly there’s something wrong.” Clarke began fidgeting with the papers behind the counter.  
“You’ve been having the dreams again haven’t you.” Raven kept her eyes down unable to meet Clarke’s  
“Yeah, It’s nothing.” Clarke waved it off “Besides isn’t this is the part where you say ‘I told you so’”  
“That would be an asshole thing to say, but I did warn you of his tendencies.”  
Clarke smiled, Raven definitely had a way with words.

(Two months before Clarke and Finn had dated Raven and Finn had been together. Clarke hated to talk about it but she was the one who had broken them up. It was a wild night and Clarke was in the process of outdrinking a guy almost three times her weight. She was on her 8th or 12th shot (she couldn’t remember). Honestly she didn’t remember that night at all except that by the next morning she had managed to sleep with both Finn and Raven. Separately but in the same night. It was an interesting conversation. Luckily she had kept her best friend. Clarke didn’t deserve a friend like her.)

“So besides re-living your ghosts, how’d your morning go.”  
“Indra made a guest appearance yet again.” Clarke chuckled  
“Are you sure it’s an accident and it’s not just an excuse?”  
“An excuse?”  
“For Lexa to see you, she’s very pretty.”  
Clarke sighed. “I’m fully aware of how pretty she is, she’s stunning. I can’t imagine how much prettier she’d be if she was out of that tight bun.”  
“...and skirt?” Raven said before bursting out laughing

Clarke’s face reddened at the thought

“Oooh, now you’re thinking about it.” This sent Raven into a new fit of laughter  
“I am not!” Clarke nearly yelled back to get her voice to be heard over Raven’s loud laughter.  
“Is this not a good time?” Octavia was standing in the doorway clearly confused at the sight of Raven doubled over nearly in tears and a red face Clarke.

“Nah, Just talking about naked girls.” Raven gasped as she tried to speak and recover from her fit

Clarke’s face just got redder

“So, the usual.” Octavia smiled   
She was wearing black skinny jeans and an over sized sweatshirt. Probably one of Lincoln’s she was also carrying a red paper bag with colorful paper coming out of it. 

“It’s Lincoln’s birthday and I was in the area, so I was wondering if you guys wanted to come over for dinner. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you guys.”

Clarke looked at Raven and at the empty shop

“Well, I don’t know if we’ll be able to take the night off with all our customers.” Clarke smirked  
“Well, if you guys cans possibly sneak away from your booming business dinner’s at 7.”  
“Sounds doable.” Raven replied  
“Awesome!” Octavia bounced towards the door and before leaving added “My brother will be over too if you guys don’t mind.”  
“I’m sure Raven won’t mind.” Clarke said but immediately regretted it when Raven buried her elbow in her rib, but Octavia was already out the door to see the exchange.  
\-----  
Later that night at Octavia’s things were going really well. Clarke hadn’t been to Octavia’s house in what seemed like ages. It was a small home but it was fitting especially for Octavia and Lincoln. They had gotten married about a year ago but they had been dating since Octavia was in college. 

At dinner Clarke and Octavia had been exchanging sick faces at each other all evening every time they looked over at Bellamy and Raven. They were the type of people who insulted each other at every possibility, but while the other wasn’t looking they would look at them with bedroom eyes. It was gross. Clarke was helping Octavia with the dishes after dinner. They were discussing Raven and Bellamy's odd infatuations with each other when Clarke noticed a framed picture in the corner of the kitchen on the countertop. 

It was a picture of Octavia, a girl Clarke had never seen before, and Lexa. Octavia noticed Clarke lose interest in the conversation. She saw Clarke's gaze and followed it. It was the picture she had taken with her friends Costia and Lexa.   
"Do you know her?" Octavia asked Clarke.   
"Yeah, Lexa lives next door, I didn't know you two were friends.” 

Octavia gave Clarke a small smile.

"Yeah, we were close friends in college.”   
“What happened?” Clarke asked   
“It’s a long unpleasant story that frankly isn’t my place to tell, but long story short we grew apart.” 

Clarke looked back at the smiling face, you could see all her teeth, she had never seen Lexa give more than a half smile. 

“She was so wild.” Octavia reminisced.   
“Lexa?” Clarke says skeptically   
“Yeah, out of the three of us she was definitely the wildest.”   
Clarke’s mouth hung open. “I’ve never even seen her smile and I live next to her!”   
Octavia laughed at Clarke’s incredulousness and said. “Well, I suppose you just have to get to know her.” 

Clarke would definitely like to see a wild Lexa. 

“Now quit your gaping, I still have a billion dishes to clean.” 

After the dishwashing all five of them had begun a game of Risk which ended shortly after Lincoln conquered everyone in less than half an hour. Clarke wished Lincoln a happy birthday before leaving. She was going to walk home with Raven, but by the looks of it Raven wasn’t sleeping alone tonight. The weather was nice for a walk home. As she got closer to her apartment she noticed the light still on in the flower shop which was odd. Lexa was a very punctual person, she never closed or opened her shop late. She realized aside from her stiff personality Clarke didn't know anything about Lexa she doesnt even know her last name. Clarke walked up to the small flower shop. There was a strong odor lingering in the air of the different flowers. She looked in the window and saw Lexa surrounded by boxes and an exasperated look. Which made her face look cuter. She no longer had her businesswoman outfit, but was wearing light colored skinny jeans and a white fitted t-shirt. She looked gorgeous. Clarke walked past the window and the flustered Lexa towards her shop. She stopped in her tracks and remembered Octavia describing Lexa as wild. Clarke would like to get to know this side of Lexa. She backtracked and went to open the door of the flower shop. 

"Hey." Clarke said tentatively.   
Lexa looked up startled "Oh, Clarke" 

Clarke realized that it was close to one in the morning and she was walking in uninvited. 

"I'm sorry to barge in, but you looked flustered and I was wondering if you needed any help." "Well, " Lexa looked around her store and realized how many boxes there were, she looked up and her gaze softened," I guess a little help wouldn't hurt. " 

They worked in silence unpacking the flowers from the boxes. Occasionally Lexa would tell Clarke where to put the flowers. After 30 minutes of this Clarke decided to break the silence.   
"So what's with all the flowers? "   
Lexa looked up slightly confused" It's a flower shop Clarke. "   
Clarke laughed which startled Lexa. "No silly, I'm aware that I'm in a flower shop I was just wondering why there was more flowers here than normal."   
"How would you know?"   
Clarke's face flushed "I look in on occasion, you are my shop neighbor."   
Lexa gave her, her usual half-smile "Well, you know with prom and spring coming up people tend to buy a significant amount of flowers."   
"I never quite understood the significance of giving someone flowers as a happy token. They're gonna die. " Clarke said as she pulled out a large bundle of carnations.   
"Me neither, I suppose it's ironic that lovers give each other flowers which will eventually rot and die as a symbol of eternal love. Everything is temporary."   
Clarke looked at Lexa with sad eyes. Perhaps Lexa wasn't all Clarke made her out to be. She offered her a small smile.   
"But, you're a florist."   
"Irony is everywhere." Lexa gave a smile to the flower she was holding. 

Lexa was a puzzle. Clarke and Lexa finished unpacking all the flowers around three in the morning. Lexa looked at the clock on her wall and realized how late it was...or was it early? 

"Clarke I am terribly sorry, you have a shop to open tomorrow. I am very sorry for keeping you up this late on a workday." Lexa looked distressed.   
"Oh it's fine I've gone into work with less sleep and significantly more alcohol. It's you I'm worried about"   
"Me?"   
"Yeah, you strike me as the type to go to bed at like eight."   
Lexa scoffed "I do not my bedtime is set at 9:30 it allows me to get the most successful amount of sleep for the workday ahead." 

Clarke smirked 

"Anyways I'm terribly sorry for keeping you up so late."   
"How about you buy me a pizza and we call it even?" 

They had migrated to Clarke's apartment but quickly decided Lexa's was best. Clarke had a total of three chairs and two and a half were taken up by laundry which Lexa wasn't t sure was clean or dirty. Neither did Clarke. Clarke would have offered to sit on the couch but that was covered in art supplies. Lexa's apartment was the complete opposite. The apartments had one bedroom with a connected bathroom and a living area that connected with the kitchen. Lexa managed to have a dark wood table with four matching chairs a white leather couch facing a 50" flat screen TV all within the confines of her living/dining area. It didn't even look cluttered at all. 

"Wow Lexa, Are you sure you're not an interior decorator?"   
Lexa scoffed, "My dad set me up." she said flatly. Her voice had an edge to it. 

Clarke made a mental list of all the things she knew about Lexa. She was clearly well off, not a good relationship with daddy dearest, she had a bedtime, and her cat loved potatoes. All in all a very short list. Clarke sat down on one of the chairs and pulled out her phone in search of a pizza place that delivered at three in the morning.

Lexa grabbed cups and some wine for the two of them.

Lexa was the first to break the silence between them. "So, you paint." she raised the end of a sentence like a small question. 

"Yeah, I've painted since I was a little girl, my dad taught me how." 

Clarke didn't know why she added the part about her dad. She hadn't talked about him in years, since his death Clarke had completely closed herself off from that part of her life. 

"He must be very talented." Lexa said visibly impressed. 

"He was." Lexa noticed the change in tense.   
"I'm sorry Clarke I didn't mean to-"   
"It's fine." Clarke fought back tears. She cleared her throat eager to change the subject. "Umm, I noticed you were friends with Octavia."  
Lexa turned her head sharply towards Clarke. "How do you know that?"   
"I was over at her house earlier tonight for her husbands birthday party and I noticed a picture she had with you in it." 

"Oh." Lexa's face hardened. 

Clarke wasn't sure if pressing on the subject was such a good idea but her mouth had a mind of its own. 

"There was another girl in the picture that I didn't recognize. I think she said her name was Cosita."   
"Yes. Can we talk about another subject Clarke?" Lexa voice cracked.   
Clarke ignored the comment and barreled on asking “Were you guys good friends?”

“Clarke.” Lexa said it as a warning but Clarke was excited to learn new things about Lexa, she threw courtesy out the window besides her mouth was on a roll. "Did you date?" 

Lexa slammed the flat of her palm down on the dining table which caused the cup Clarke was drinking from to topple over. 

"Enough Clarke!" Lexa practically screamed. 

There were tears in her eyes. Clarke stood up.

"I'm sorry I just-" 

"Get. Out." 

Clarke stormed out of Lexa's apartment and slammed the door to her apartment. She was so stupid. Clarke couldn't believe she let her mouth run like that. She looked at the clock in her apartment above the stove and realized that she would need to go into work in a few hours so sleep was out of the question, she grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat on one of the countertops in her kitchen.   
\-----  
Lexa watched Clarke leave her apartment. She watched through tear filled eyes as she slammed the door. Lexa was such an idiot. The night had been going great, she hadn’t made many (none) friends since she set up shop. Being around Clarke was natural it felt right, until she brought up Costia. Lexa no longer fought back her tears she braced herself on her kitchen countertop as sobs racked through her body. She hadn’t cried for Costia until now. She hadn’t let herself feel the hole that Costia had left until that moment. She remembered the night all too vividly. She remembered the fight they had and she remembered waking up the next morning to Octavia’s frantic calls. She remembered Octavia sobbing on the other line as she retold the story as best she could. Through her sobbing all she heard was they found her in an alleyway.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me at futuredirewolf.tumblr.com for more chapter updates


End file.
